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Excavators have unearthed another spectacular 1700-year-old mosaic in the ancient city of Lod (called Lydda in the New Testament). In 1996, the famous Lod Mosaic was discovered, and in 2014, another one was found in the courtyard of the same structure. At that time, the corner of a third mosaic could be seen, but it was under a parking lot. Now, four years later, that mosaic has been unearthed and is another stunning example of Roman-era workmanship. The house in which the mosaics have been unearthed is believed to have been a luxurious villa belonging to a wealthy Jewish merchant. Based on pottery and coins uncovered in the excavations, it appears the villa was in use from the first century AD to the late third or early fourth century AD. The new mosaic, like the others, depicts scenes of nature with animals and fish, but not people. Archaeologists hypothesize that this may be because of the Jewish belief in the divine prohibition against graven images. The newly discovered mosaic has been rolled up and removed for the painstaking restoration process, to be carried out by the Israel Antiquities Authority. It will eventually be displayed in the new Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center, an archaeological museum that is currently under construction to house the original Lod Mosaic. In the Bible, Lod is one of the cities that Jewish people returned to after the Babylonian captivity (Neh. 11:35) and where Peter healed a paralytic man named Aeneas (Acts 9:34).

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